Missouri Ranked #24 For “Best Place To Raise A Family” In The USA

Missouri comes in the middle of the pack in a new study taking a look at the best places across the country to raise a family.

 That’s according to the personal finance website WalletHub.com placing the Show-Me State at #24 based on several key metrics including, among others: family fun, health and safety, education and child care, and affordability.

 Missouri does fare well in the area of child care costs with the second-lowest across the country. 

Massachusetts, North Dakota and Minnesota are the top states to raise a family according to the study while West Virginia, Mississippi and New Mexico are the worst.

****Full Report:

With inflation cooling but still making raising children more costly than usual, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family.
 
To determine the best states in which to put down family roots, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate.

Best vs. Worst

• Utah has the lowest separation & divorce rate, 1.7 times lower than in New Mexico, which has the highest rate.
  
• New Hampshire has the lowest share of families living in poverty, 3.1 times lower than in Mississippi, which has the highest share. 
  
• South Dakota has the lowest average annual cost of early childcare (as a share of median family income), 2.5 times lower than in New York, which has the highest. 
  
• Maine has the fewest violent crimes per capita, 7.6 times fewer than in New Mexico, which has the most.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-raise-a-family/31065